Quantum emitters, such as color centers (e.g., nitrogen-vacancy color centers in diamond) and epitaxial quantum dots (QDs), have a wide range of applications in quantum information processing (QIP), bio-imaging, and quantum-sensing. For example, QDs produced by Stranski-Krastanov self-assembled growth can be used in single-photon sources having nearly transform-limited emission linewidths. Currently, most quantum emitters are randomly positioned, such as naturally occurring impurity centers or self-assembled QDs, due to the high optical quality of such structures.
Nanophotonic structures, such as gratings, waveguides, and micro-cavities, are usually fabricated around or near the quantum emitters in order to construct practical devices. Since these quantum emitters are usually randomly distributed on a substrate, the fabrication of the nanophotonic structures usually involves locating the spatial position of these quantum emitters, or creating a large number of structures and relying on probability to successfully align to an emitter. Existing methods to locate quantum emitters include atomic force microscopy, scanning confocal microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. However, these methods are usually manual and therefore can be time consuming.